The United States Commerce Department issued a final rule on Friday upgrading the United Arab Emirates to Category A5 under its export control regulations, removing the Gulf state from the restricted country groups D:3 and D:4. The reclassification, set for official publication on Tuesday, allows the UAE government and vetted commercial entities to acquire advanced artificial intelligence chips, high-performance computing servers, certain military equipment, commercial satellites and a range of dual-use technologies without individual export licences. The UAE becomes the first Arab country to join this tier, which includes close US partners such as the United Kingdom, India and South Korea.

According to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the decision reflects the UAE’s status as a Major Defence Partner — a designation granted to only one other country — and its support for US national security interests, including during the recent conflict with Iran. Emirati officials described the move as a historic achievement rooted in the leadership’s emphasis on trust and compliance with international standards, and said it would open new avenues for joint research, investment and supply-chain integration in semiconductors, quantum computing and peaceful nuclear energy. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi condemned the reclassification, writing on social media that the US document amounted to an official admission of Abu Dhabi’s role in what he termed military aggression against Iran. He asserted that the UAE bore direct international responsibility and must be held accountable, noting that Iranian retaliatory strikes had targeted Emirati civilian, military and energy sites.

Within the United States, the decision has drawn sharp political and analytical criticism. Senator Elizabeth Warren labelled it a “corrupt deal,” alleging that preferential treatment was linked to a UAE royal’s investment in a Trump family cryptocurrency venture before the presidential inauguration, and called for testimony from Commerce Department officials. Researchers at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Council on Foreign Relations separately warned that the easing of controls could pose national security risks, including the potential diversion of sensitive technologies to China through Emirati entities with past ties to Huawei, and could shift large-scale artificial intelligence data-centre investments away from the United States.

The reclassification formalises a deepening strategic alignment that accelerated during the Iran conflict, in which the UAE reportedly conducted dozens of airstrikes on Iranian territory from the opening days of the war. It builds on a bilateral artificial intelligence cooperation framework announced in May 2025 and on the UAE’s position as the largest US trading partner in the Middle East, with a $23.8 billion American trade surplus. The final rule takes effect upon publication in the Federal Register, while congressional scrutiny is expected to intensify, with Senator Warren seeking testimony from administration officials. Abu Dhabi has signalled it will move swiftly to operationalise the new access, even as Tehran’s protests underscore the regional frictions embedded in the technology partnership.